I’ve
been slacking on my blog due to life and personal matters. Summer vacation
is approaching and I’ll be spending lots of time with family and friends,
which means, I will be taking time off from blogging. I’ll be back in early
September.
What have I been doing?” I’ve been working on my author
website. I felt it was time to update it with new information and give it a
facelift.
If
you get a chance, stop on over at Author
Denise Baer’s website and check out the changes. There are links where you
can purchase my books, Net Switch, a dark psychological suspense novel, and Sipping
a Mix of Verse, a poetry book.
Below
are things you’ll find on my website:
-About Me
-Information about my books, including the
book trailers
-Videos I created from some of my travels
-Writing samples of poems and short stories,
and Audio files of some of my poems
-Reading Guide for Net Switch, along with an
Excerpt from the book
-A page dedicated to foods
-Contact Info and Social Networks
Hope
you find the time to stop on by and let me know what you think—good or bad.
I
stopped reading the news long ago because I felt it was plagued with what the ‘media
thought we should know’, which is usually about celebrities. I’m tired of
hearing about celebrities, and too many people are obsessed with celebrity
lives instead of their own. When you have to read and gossip about someone else’s
life, then that means you haven’t been living your own. But I regress.
Living
in Germany, I don’t watch the local news in the States, but I do get Bing highlights
when I open my browser. I came across this article about Sesame
Street. When I was a child, I couldn’t wait to watch Sesame Street along
with Romper Room, and they helped me learn to count and learn my ABC’s.
Because
of the overwhelming number of Americans in jail these days, or have been in
jail, Sesame Street decided to introduce a Muppet called, Alex, whose dad is in
prison. “Alex, who wears a hoodie, gives voice to kids who might feel that they
don't otherwise have one.” Take a look at a clip of one of the segments. Adults can learn many lessons from this video.
The
idea is great for helping children cope with a life situation they didn’t
create. Sesame Street is a wonderful teaching tool for children. Unfortunately,
it shouldn't have to teach children about feeling like an outcast because their parent is in jail. It's a time for them to learn about playing well with others, sharing, etc.
This
says volumes about where our society is headed. Gone are the days of innocence.
Children are bombarded, damaged and bruised by adult actions. These childhood
issues cause anxiety and various other psychological problems, and in some
cases, children grow up and mirror their parent’s actions.
Since
2002, the U.S. has the highest jail rates. “As of 2010, the rate was 500
prisoners per 100,000 citizens, compared with an average of 100 prisoners per
100,000 citizens in peer countries. Incarceration rates are significantly
higher for American blacks and Latinos than for whites.” These statistics are
disheartening. America has lost its vision for opportunity and the American
dream. I highly doubt anyone who came to America thought prison was a dream. Many
people from other cultures came to America to make their dreams come true and succeeded.
All
I can say is these ‘new efforts’ from Sesame Street are commendable and depressing
at the same time.
I
started getting headaches in the 3rd grade. My teacher sent a note
home stating my eyes should be checked. I was excited because I kind of wanted
glasses. After my eyes were checked, and everything came out fine, I continued to suffer with bouts of headaches along with an occasional nose bleed.
As
time went on, my headaches became more severe. By 19-years old, I was getting headaches
and migraines at least three times a week. I went for a CT Scan, but they didn’t
find anything wrong. So again, I just dealt with my headaches and migraines by
taking over the counter medication. When I entered my 30’s, I decided to look
into them again. I was put on different prescribed migraine medications, but if
I didn’t take the medication at a precise moment, it wouldn’t work. I turned to
Excedrin Migraine, which seemed to be the only thing that worked for a while.
I
still haven’t found a cure to relieve me of migraines. Migraines are debilitating.
When I was working, most of my sick days were reserved for my migraines, and
there were times I was stuck working at the start of one. They cause nausea and
vomiting, dizziness and lack of focus. I’ve tried so many things to decrease
them, and they have decreased from three times a week to about two a month, but
last longer in days. A big factor in my decreased migraines was when I quit smoking. I use a Neti Pot to help the pressure and I take Magnesium and Fish
Oil supplements, which I read help decrease migraines.
I
know my migraine triggers, which is a long list of triggers. I find I get
migraines when it’s about to rain (when the rain hangs in the air too long
before release), weather changes (cold to hot and vice versa), PMS, smoke and
strong perfumes, high winds and allergies.
The
reason I told you about my migraines is because June is National Migraine
Awareness Month. Each day, approximately 430,000 people call in sick to work
due to migraines a day, which results in 157 million lost days and $31 billion
industry losses a year. Over 37 million people suffer from migraines in
America, yet most people don’t understand them, it’s misdiagnosed, and it’s under-treated.
Knowing which type of migraine you have is very important along with knowing
what triggers them. “Migraine
is a genetic Neurological disease.
In
reading through the different types of migraines, I’ve come to the conclusion
that I have Migraine
without aura: Headache lasts 4-72 hours, one-sided, pulsating quality,
moderate to severe intensity, aggravated by routine physical activity,
associated with nausea and/or sensitivity to light and sound.
If
you suffer from migraines, or you know of anyone who does, please spread the
word about this disease and educate yourself about the types, triggers and
different treatments.
